


Dear Sweet Viola

by RichSkitzCale



Category: Majo no Ie | The Witch's House
Genre: Adaptation, Gen, Horror, Novelization, Prophetic Visions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-14 11:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8011489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichSkitzCale/pseuds/RichSkitzCale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the woods, there is a house.  This house is the home of a witch.  This is the tale of that witch, and the 'friend' she makes.  It details the events of the game, as they would happen after the friend agrees to help with an experimental spell, one that would allow the witch something very important to her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Deal

**Author's Note:**

> Attention: The Witch’s House (Majo no le in Japan) is property of the people who initially created this game. This will not be something for the weak hearted. Part of the inspiration for this fic comes from watching playthroughs on YouTube by both PewDiePie and Markiplier, as well as playing the game myself.
> 
> This is also posted on Fanfiction.net under the name of Richard B. Sampson Jr, which is my given name.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter covers the events that happened before the game started, as well as when our protagonist enters the house.

Dear Sweet Viola  
  
Chapter 1: The Deal  
  
    In the woods outside a small town, there is a house.  In the house, there resides a young girl with purple hair.  That little girl is taken care of by the owner of the house, but even the owner cannot help her.  She has a illness that is slowly killing her.  The owner of the house had provided many things in the home to keep the girl happy, various toys and presents, more so on her birthdays.  The owner even provided the girl with a feline companion.  But none of those could give the girl what she truly need, a cure for her sickness.  
    Finally, the owner of the house, at the girl's bequest, managed to find the one item it could not instantly provide; a true friend.  Somehow, the owner planted the idea in to the town about the forbidden nature of the house.  Stories were planted that there was a witch in the house.  Knowing the nature of children, especially those who the purple haired girl claimed were friends, and their own curiosity, there would be some who would make their way to the house in the woods.  Only the ones with potential would be allowed to enter the house, and even then, only the right one would be that true friend.  
    As it turned out, the right one was a young blonde girl.  She had made her way into the house, and was even allowed to find the purple haired girl.  On many occasions, the blonde girl visited the purple haired girl.  Over the course of those visits, the blonde girl learned of the illness that had consumed the purple haired girl.  She managed to bring medicines to try to help the girl.  Unfortunately, those medicines had not helped the girl.  The sickness had no cure.  
    There was a way, however, to survive the sickness.  The owner of the house knew it, and had already prepared to do it.  It required a special thing be done, and it had to be done willingly; so some deception was required on the part of the purple haired girl.  The purple haired girl had discussed an idea a few times before with the blonde girl.  It was a way for her to enjoy being without pain for a day, and the blonde girl had thought about it a few times, without giving an answer.  
    Today, it needed to be mentioned again, since she was sure she did not have much time left.  She spoke to the blonde girl from the bed she was now confined to, careful not to look at her, and controlled the pain in her voice.  "Remember when I asked you my favor?"  
    The blonde girl nodded, and responded.  "I do.  I still don't know if I should do it.  You did say it was risky."  The purple hair girl remember that what she wanted to do was risky, and if done improperly, would kill both of them.  The purple hair girl knew what had to be done, and felt confident.  Being so close to death was an excellent motivator.  
    The purple haired girl kept from looking at her friend, and took her friend's hand.  "You did promise to grant me this favor.  It will only be for a day, and my time is short.  I've already lost my eyesight to this sickness."  It was a half truth, but her friend didn't need to know that.  
    Finally, the blonde haired girl nodded, feeling concern for her dying friend.  At least it would give her friend a day of pain free happiness.  That is what everyone deserved before leaving this life.  She finally nodded.  "Alright.  You can do it.  I'm sure my father won't mind, as long as we don't tell him."  She saw her friend nod, never facing.  Obviously, her friend was already focusing on what needed to be done.  
    Soon, the bedroom was filled with a soft chanting.  While none of the words were recognizable by the blonde, it was of a language that no living civilization used.  As the chanting continued, a strange power filled the air in the room, and soon, it stopped.  The dimly lit room was filled with silence.  For a few tense moments, nothing happened.  Neither of the two girls stirred.  
    After a prolonged silence, the purple haired girl wailed in pain.  The blonde noticed that she was in trouble, and grabbed a glass from the nightstand.  “Here, drink this.  It will help with the pain.”  The purple haired girl took the glass, and downed it.  As had been said, the screaming in pain stopped.  
    After that, the blonde got up, and headed towards the door.  No words were said at that moment, but the purple haired girl felt betrayed.  Something had gone horribly wrong, and something wasn’t right.  She tried to call out to her friend, but she had hardly any voice, let alone make coherent sounds.  She needed help.  
    At that moment, the purple haired girl realized she did have help.  She had the help of the owner of the house.  She could sense the blonde girl making her way to the front door, tearing a piece of paper in half.  The purple haired girl knew if she let the blonde leave, she would never return.  She then willed the house to stop her, but it was too late.  The blonde had left the house.  
    She quickly realized that the blonde had not left the grounds yet.  It would take her passing the rose bushes before she could leave.  She commanded the house, through the link she had with the house, to put the blonde into a deep sleep.  It would give her time to figure out how to make things right, and figure out what had gone wrong.  
    As the purple haired girl thought that, the blonde had just reached a tree stump in the yard.  At that moment, she felt tired, and started to collapse in to some nearby flowers.  As she did so, she couldn’t fathom why she was so tired, but she was certain it wasn’t natural.  After all this time, she knew the feel of supernatural powers.  One would think this odd, but no one ever thought of anything like that about the blonde.  She was a good girl.  A shame now that she would make her father worry so much.  
  
*************************  
  
    When the blonde girl awoke, she looked around, bewildered for a moment.  She had remembered leaving the house, and when she looked back towards it, a small rose bush was in the way.  She then looked at the paper that was in her hand.  It had been ripped in half, but the part she had was enough to make her worry.  It had been from her father.

  
    “mind if you go to her house, but just stay away from the forest.  Hope to see you home soon.  
      
    -Dad”  
  
     It was from her father, and she knew she had to get home.  Judging by the sky, she had been away far to long.  She quickly got up, and headed away from the house.  For a moment, she glanced at the signpost, which had always guided her to the house, but the one pointing to the house seemed blurred.  It didn’t matter, since she was certain she was done there.  
    As she headed towards the exit of the garden, she was startled to see a cat on the stump.  She had remembered seeing a glimpse of the cat in the house, but it always stayed in the shadows.  As she passed it, she swore it watched her for a moment.  Then a strange voice said, “You‘re up and at ‘em, eh?”  
    For a moment, she bolted away from the cat, and when she finally reached the exit of the yard, she stopped.  She was just in time, since a large rose bush had sprouted up.  If she had run into it, she would have been seriously cut by the thorns.  There was no obvious way around the bush, so she was certain she would have to cut them.  
    This was not something she was unfamiliar with.  She had gone with her father a few times when he hunted for food, and when they got to thick brambles, she had learned to cut through them, using her father‘s machete.  As she recalled that, something didn‘t seem fully right, but then she noticed a gleam in the nearby bushes.  She went over to it, and pulled out an old machete.  
    For a moment, the blonde studied the blade, and if someone would have seen her, they would have seen a smile cross her face.  It was only for the briefest of instants, but the smile looked wrong on her face; then the look of a worried child was on her face again.  The blade was sharp, but it was rusty.  She went over to the rose bush, and tried to cut it down.  She was not surprised that it did nothing.  What it did mean was that she would have to go back to the house.  
    She moved back towards the house, and as she suspected, the machete was sharp enough to cut the small rose bush between her and the house.  In fact, it cut them with ease.  It had been a small bush, she mused, but that would have been no problem for any blade.  What caused the blonde to frown was the fact that the blade broke right after the bush was cut down.  She tossed the blade aside, and continued on, not even noticing the broken blade disappearing, as if it never existed.  
    As she neared the house, she recalled that the cat had no longer been on the stump near where she awoke.  In fact, she saw it on another tree stump right near the house.  Again, she noticed it watching her, and for an instant, she stared at it.  For the briefest of moment, she could have sworn something in the cat‘s eyes registered recognition.  Again, she heard the odd voice, and knew it was from the cat.  “..Huh, what is it?”  Then the cat said something that totally amazed her.  “So the way out is blocked by roses.”  
    Almost as if the statement was an invitation, the blonde heard a click and a creaking noise.  The door to the house opened up.  She stared almost in disbelief, like a part of her knew it shouldn’t have done that, but it had happened.  No doubt, in order for her to get past the bigger bush of roses, she’d have to get something in the house.  
    Almost as if the cat knew she was contemplating it, the cat spoke again.  “You gonna go in?”  The blonde kept looking at the door as the cat said, “Might as well, if you can’t leave.”  Almost as if she was heeding the cat’s advice, she entered the house, deeply aware that something was not right about the house at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have done a reading of this chapter and posted it on YouTube on the following link: https://youtu.be/Yej1RfxcNKI


	2. The Helping Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having entered the house, our protagonist makes her way though the first floor, being warned by psychic visions as she continues through it. Those psychic visions, however, show her that the house might be trying to kill her.

Chapter 2: The Helping Hands  
  
    The blonde girl entered the house, her eyes adjusting to the dim light inside.  The entry hall, much to her surprise, only had one other door in it.  She was ready to turn around and head back out, but when she had entered, the door had closed and locked itself.  She had only one choice, the door on the wall between the candles.  
    She stepped forward and entered the room.  It was a bleak room, devoid of any features.  The only things that stood out in the dim light of the room was the far off walls, a paper on the wall opposite her, and a spot on the floor the color of deep crimson.  For some reason, the blonde girl thought the spot was blood, but that didn't make sense to her.  The only time she saw blood in that same pattern was when her father had a messy kill when hunting.  There were no animals in the house, unless one considered the some of the truly unworthy ones.  
    She blinked her eyes for a moment.  She was not certain why those thoughts happened, but it had to be because of the house.  She was certain, however, that the paper on the wall was important.  It would obviously tell her what she would need to do to get past the huge rose bush.  She started to step forward, preparing to walk over the spot straight to the note.  
     _The second she stepped on the crimson spot on the floor, she heard a rumbling sound.  Before she could move, the far off walls came towards her.  The time it took them to rush towards her was faster than she could even comprehend what was about to happen.  In an instant, the pain caused by the two walls pushing on to meet in the center of the room was brief but intense.  It had ended when the pressure fractured every bone in her body, squashing all her organs between the walls, staining them and the floor with her blood as her life ended._  
    The blonde blinked before she put her foot down, stopping before her foot landed on the blood red spot.  The walls closing in hadn't happened, but she had been warned about what would have happened.  If she had stepped on the spot, she would have been killed.  That would have been bad, since she was one of the worthy ones.  She shook her head for a moment, still unsure what had happened, and then sidestepped the spot.  
    She walked over to the paper, and looked at it.  In an untidy scrawl, she saw a simple message on it.  'COME TO MY ROOM'.  The message didn't make sense, unless it referred to her purple haired friend.  It almost looked like her friend's writing, except the letters appeared to be written by someone who couldn't even see what they were writing.  
    She turned to leave the room, remembering to sidestep around the blood stain.  She then made her way through the room.  For the briefest of moments, if someone else had been in the house, they would have noticed a cruel smile cross the blonde girl's face.  It had crossed another face in that house some time ago, when those walls had crushed another person in that room.  
    That look had left the blonde girl's face when she left the room.  She had returned to the foyer, causing the same black cat that had been outside, to yelp in surprise.  She jumped a bit herself, since she hadn't expected the feline to be there.  The cat, however, regained its composure first and turned to her.  "Yo.  Decided to follow you for laughs."  She watched as the cat looked behind her for a moment, then said, "Incidentally, where the heck'd you come from?"  
    She turned, almost about to point out the obvious answer to the question, when she saw the door was gone.  The room with the crushing walls was gone, as if it never existed.  Had she really entered that death trap of a room, and in turn, had a vision of her body crushed between the walls?  She shook her head, trying to shake the notion.  Something told her that the nature of the house was both real and surreal.  
    She decided to head to the door outside, only to find it was locked.  Something in her was not surprised, as if it knew what was going on.  She then looked to the west, since she remember the front door was facing south, and entered the next room.  
    The room she entered appeared to have a desk and an empty bookshelf in it.  She saw a door on the northern wall, but when she checked it, it was locked.  She looked at the door, and could not see how to unlock it.  She looked over at the table then, and saw something she might be able to use.  A pair of scissors were on the table.  She grabbed them, and tried to take them from the table, but to her surprise, they were chained to the table.  Why would someone chain a pair of scissors to a desk in a house like this?  It made no sense, unless it was meant to tease someone who could not leave, and wanted to.  
    The blonde left the scissors, and made her way back to the first room, and through it to a door on the east wall.  Entering that door lead her to a long narrow hall.  The end she was at had two doors, the one she had entered from, and the one across from it.  A quick glance down the hall hinted that another door was at the end of the hall.  She hesitated for a moment, feeling that something important was down the hall, but then decided to enter the door across from her.  
    The room she entered, however, was very plain.  It was almost dull, except for a large cylindrical basket with a bear in it in the center.  She quietly looked at it, remembering that she had brought one for her friend.  She hoped her friend, the purple haired girl had enjoyed it.  It would bring her some happiness as the unfortunate day drew near.  
    The blonde came out of her thoughts after a moment, having just noticed a note stuck to the wall.  She walked over to it, and read the simple message on it.  “BEARS IN A BASKET.”  She looked back at the basket, and took not that there was only one in the basket, and probably not enough room for a second bear, unless it was small, or were missing its limbs.  Again, a wry smile crossed the girl‘s face, one that looked out of place on the blonde‘s face, but no one would ever see that smile.  
    She left the room, and went down the narrow hallway, towards the clock at the far end, and found another room.  When she entered the room, it wasn't as plain as the previous one.  It had a lovely carpet, a display cabinet, a desk, and a pile of gifts in one corner.  
    Her first stop was the display case.  It was locked, but something in there called out to her, as if it belonged to her and wanted to be back in her hands.  She thought about trying to break the case, but decided against that.  She felt it would open at the right time.  
    She then turned her attention to the desk, and the open book upon it.  It was a diary, and obviously the entry had been written by a child.  For some reason, there only seemed to be one entry in it.  
  
    “I was sick, so no one wanted to play with me.  My father and mother didn‘t love me.”  
  
    The blonde‘s heart went out to the young writer.  To be sick, and have no one, not even their parents, care to do anything to make her feel better.  It disgusted her.  She even thought that the huge pile of gifts were to make up for the lack of caring.  She hoped that the parents got what they deserved.  In fact, some of the more horrible things she could think of would be too good for them.  Again, a smile that did not look right on the blonde‘s face appeared there.  
    After a moment, her eyes landed on the pile of gifts, and one caught her eye.  It was a teddy bear.  It was just the right size to almost fit in the basket.  She picked it up, and went back to the room the basket was in, only to confirm her thoughts.  She tried to place the bear she had into the basket, but it was just a bit too big.  There was only one way to make the bear fit, and there was only one tool to help her complete the task.  
    The blonde girl dashed out of the room, and then through the foyer, before reaching the desk that had the scissors chained to them.  She figured they would come in handy, since she felt she wasn't strong enough to rip off the limbs of the bear.  She felt that was because of her illness, but then recalled she wasn't sick.  Regardless of that thought, she put the bear on the desk, and snipped off its limbs.  
    As she cut off the limbs, two odd things happened.  The first was that each limb removed seemed to disappear from sight, as if they did not exist in the first place.  The second odd thing was something she didn’t notice until the last limb was gone.  The scissors had gotten very bloody.  It was almost as if she had cut off an actual bear’s limbs.  Of course, that would be cruel, something the blonde girl would not do.  Yet, the thought of doing that caused another smile to cross the blonde girl’s face, and that smile did not look right.  
    Once the task was done, the blonde left the desk, not overly bothered about the missing limbs, and the bloody scissors.  Her task was done, and now the bear would fit in the basket.  She took the teddy bear’s torso, and left the room the way she had entered.  As she did so, a bloody paw print appeared on the wall.  For a moment, the blonde shuddered, but then she moved on.  
    The strangeness continued as she passed through the entry hall, and the candles on the wall blew out.  The sensation did not seem to bother the cat, so the blonde tried to not let it bother her.  She remained calm all the way into the room with the basket in it.  The note was still on the wall, and the blonde girl just walked up to the basket.  She shoved the limbless bear into the basket, and as she did so, an audible click was heard.  
    Feeling the task was done, the blonde girl walked back to the note.  When she looked at it this time, it was blank.  She looked at the other side of the paper, momentarily expecting that the paper had somehow been flipped over, but it was blank as well.  While a normal person would have been unnerved by this turn of events, she just accepted the odd event, and headed for the exit of the room.  
    The strangeness continued just as she was about to leave.  She noticed out of the corner of her eye that a bloody paw print appeared on the wall near the door.  She chanced a glance back, and noticed that the basket of bears had moved as well, like it was coming after her.  
    She quickly left the room, and returned to the foyer.  As the blonde started to cross the room, she could have sworn that each step she took caused vibrations in the floor.  She was a quarter of the way through the room when two vases of roses fell to the floor and shattered.  This made the blonde girl worry even more.  Was there some huge creature in the house, or coming towards the house.  She took one more tentative step, and received her answer.  
     _The giant teddy bear burst through the door the blonde was heading towards.  The only way the massive thing could move was to bounce.  It was so big, nothing could get around it.  The sheer size of the teddy bear only kept the blonde girl rooted to the spot before it landed on top of her.  Instantly, everything went dark, and the blonde found the bear to be heavier than a human body could endure for too long.  Then it bounced up and down a few more times.  The second time was the one that made all sensations stop, as a pool of blood started to coat the floor._  
    Again, the vision ended as soon as it began, and the blonde girl turned and ran back to the room the basket was in.  She momentarily glanced back as she headed through the first door, seeing the huge teddy bear bounce through the room towards her.  She did not want to end up under it.  
    Once she was through the door, the sound the huge bouncing teddy bear made was gone.  She waited for a moment, before turning around and re-entering the foyer.  The bear was gone, and the vases were back in place.  The black cat was even sitting there again.  The blonde girl didn’t remember seeing the cat there when the bear attacked.  Still, she did not want to risk the possibility of the gigantic teddy bear returning, so she quickly ran through the foyer, and into the next room.  
    Once there, the blonde girl remember the locked door in the back of the room.  She started to head for that door, but paused when she heard a sound behind her.  She quickly turned around, and to her amazement, the limbs from the teddy bear were on the floor.  She bent down to pick up the limbs, not even phased by the blood on the end of the limbs.  She then moved on through the now unlocked door.  
    The room she entered was an elaborate dining room.  There were eight chairs around a magnificent dining table, set up for an elaborate meal.  Ironically, there was already a bowl of some sort of soup set up.  As she approached it, she noticed a note on the table, at the head of the table.  On it were two words.  ‘TASTE POISON‘.  She then caught a whiff of it, and it smelled odd.  It even looked odd, green in color.  For all she knew, the soup was pea soup.  For a brief moment, the blonde girl heard her stomach growl.  
     _The second her stomach stopped growling, the blonde girl picked up the bowl and drank down the soup.  The second it was gone, she heard a click come from another door.  She headed in the direction of the sound, and as she walked, she felt odd.  Her legs felt weak as she moved towards the door the sound had come from.  Just as she got closer to the door, her limbs gave out, and her vision quit.  Everything went black and before her body hit the flood, she was dead._  
    She blinked, and before she touched the bowl, she pulled her hand away.  She walked away from the table, but was certain the bowl was important, but the contents were deadly.  For a brief moment, she recalled another person having the soup, back when many kids had entered.  One child had sipped the soup, and ended up on the floor, foaming at the mouth.  Again, the blonde girl had a smile that looked wrong on her face, one that no one saw.  
    She then headed to the other side of the room.  She glanced in each of the corners, and she saw a door in the corner that shared a wall with the corner of the room she had entered from.  On the wall opposite this new door, she saw another door.  Recalling the vision, she remembered that the sound of something unlocking coming from there.  She was certain that was the way she needed to go, but she would have to check the other door.  
    The blonde girl went over to the first door she had seen, and went through it.  To her surprise, it led to the foyer.  It also surprised the black cat she had seen earlier.  The cat jumped, and momentarily arched its back, before it resumed a normal stance.  "Geez, you freaked me out.  Don't scare me like that!"  Now, a slight smile crossed the blonde's face.  It was the smile that marked the childlike innocence the girl should have had.  Any child usually has a slight smile or giggle when a cat gets scared.  This sly smile, however, had with it a little bit of vindictiveness.  
    She returned to the dining room, and went to the opposite door.  A note on the wall next to the door confirmed a thought she had.  The note read 'THE COOK IS BUSY.  LEND A HAND.'  The thought had been that the door was to the kitchen.  No doubt there was a way to solve the problem with the poison soup in the room.  The words mentioning a cook, however, made the blonde think there was someone else in the house.  She didn't remember seeing a cook on her past visits there.  
    She cautiously entered the room.  As she did, she heard the sounds of someone chopping something.  From the door, she could see the counter, a cutting board on top of it, and a knife constantly moving up and down on the board.  No one was visibly holding it, but someone was there.  The blonde girl felt leery about approaching the invisible being, so she decided it would be best to approach them last.  
    Her first stop was to a book that was laying on a small table.  Inside the book, she found a page already marked, detailing the use of true silverware.  She read how silver was used in old times because it was a good detector of poison.  Silver would turn black in the presence of poison.  She had no doubt, especially after her last vision, that she needed to expose the fact that the soup was poison.  
    She then tried to look around the kitchen more, only to find no silverware.  The only thing of interest in the kitchen was another door.  The door, which she had figured would be in the room, was locked.  She lowered her head, and knew what she would have to do.  
    She walked over to the invisible chef.  The whole time she had been in the room, she never heard the figure speak.  As she approach them, a voice seemed to be coming from the area of the knife.  The voice didn’t sound ethereal, but she still wasn’t sure as it said, “Ahh, I’m busy.  So busy.”  The blonde girl, deep down, felt compelled to help the invisible chef.  
     _The blonde girl felt herself offering a hand, and she heard the invisible chef speak once again.  “A hand is what I needed.”  That quick, she felt her hand grabbed, and placed over counter.  She tried to pull it away, but the grip of the invisible chef was too strong.  She then felt the true strength as the knife came down on her wrist, cutting her hand clean off.  Instantly, blood was gushing out from her arteries, the panic the moment caused made her heart beat faster, pumping more blood.  It wasn’t long before the loss of blood caused everything to go black, and death consumed her._  
    The blonde girl blinked again, and she was standing next to the chef.  She had not offered to lend a hand, at least not yet.  She knew better, having enjoyed the sight of one of the dumber ones having done so before.  She then shook her head, unsure why she thought that.  
    Instead of dwelling on that odd thought, she offered up the limbs from the teddy bear.  Thankfully, she watched the invisible figure take the limbs, and chop off the hands.  While she couldn’t be sure, the figure addressed the blonde girl, “Oh, thank you.  I was in need of a hand or two.”  She then noticed something apparently floating in the air.  She held out her hand, and felt the object being gently placed in her hand.  “Let me show my appreciation.”  
    She looked at the object now in her hand, and the blonde girl smiled.  It was a silver key.  She immediately ran to the door, and tried to unlock it.  Unfortunately, the key did not fit.  She looked at the key again, wondering what she had to do with it.  The fact that the silver key wouldn’t fit in the door seemed to mock at her.  
    At that moment, she remembered the words of the book, and the soup.  While it wasn’t a piece of silverware, it was silver.  It would reveal that the soup is poisonous.  She quickly left the kitchen, and ran over to the dining room table.  She approached the soup filled trireme.  Again, she was tempted to try the soup, but the blonde girl resisted.  Instead of trying the soup, she placed the silver key into the soup.  
    She watched the soup. After a few moments, the submerged key turned black.  That very second, she heard the click of a door unlocking.  The blonde girl knew that the door was now open.  She quickly ran into the kitchen, and over to the formerly locked door.  The door now opened, and on the other side was a set of stairs leading up to the next floor.  
    The blonde girl started heading up the stairs, and as she did, for a brief moment, she saw a girl with purple hair.  She had seen the figure before, and part of her was certain she knew the girl.  For a moment, she felt a bit of contempt for the figure, but she also felt that the figure was part of the reason she was at the house in the first place; a visit to a sick friend.  She quickly rushed after them.  
    As the blonde girl did so, the purple haired girl felt that her plan was working.  The house would help her make things right.  The house was alive, and it was loyal to the purple haired girl.  For a brief moment, however, the purple haired girl wondered if it was a fact, or if the house was loyal only to its true master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have done a reading of this chapter and posted it on YouTube on the following link: https://youtu.be/gSFmiivpG4c


	3. The Halls of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our protagonist makes her way through the house's second floor, discovering along the way that there is more to the house than meets the eye.

Chapter 3: The Halls of Death  
  
    The blonde girl reached the top of the steps, and found herself on the second floor.  A brief look around told her that something was odd about the floor.  Somehow, it didn't seem to match with the floor below.  She was at what she was certain was the eastern end of the hall, which seemed to be over the middle of the house, yet the hall she was in extended past the western wall downstairs.  
    She shook the odd notion off, recalling that the house remodeled itself to suit the occupants needs.  This house remained what it was meant to be, so what it looked like was not odd at all.  She the proceeded down the hall, stopping at the first door on her right.  She could tell there were three other doors in the hall, but this was the first one.  It needed to be explored.  
    She entered the door, and was surprised to find a store room that looked much older and dirtier than the house.  She walked down a long hall, briefly thinking it couldn't be that long.  Before long, the room opened up, and she saw tons of barrels, a decrepit shelf, an old table, and in one corner, a huge spider web.  In the dim light of the room, however, she could see something on the table, and something in the web.  Even a brief look up told her there was a structure on the ceiling, but she wasn't sure what it was.  
    The blonde girl made her way to the old table, moving one barrel in a way that allowed her access to the table.  As she was now closer to the table, she could see the paper in the dim light.  On that paper was another cryptic note, and she was sure it meant something about this room, and the floor she was on.  The note read 'THE SPIDER HAS POOR EYES.  HE CAN'T TELL COLORS APART'.  The blonde had no idea what that meant, but she did know how small spiders were.  Why would someone have to worry about the fact their eyes couldn't tell colors apart.  
    She continued searching the dark room, checking every shelf and barrel.  For a moment, she almost panicked when her reaching in one barrel revealed a long slender thing that she thought might be a snake.  Luckily, it was just a rope, but snakes bothered her.  Everything about them seemed so wrong, from the way they moved, to the way they could unhinge their jaws to swallow their prey whole.  Of course, she didn‘t think that way about the other snake in the house.  Again, a smile that didn‘t look quite right crossed the blonde girl‘s face.  
    She recovered her senses, and then headed over to the back wall, looking at the huge web on it.  Right in the center of it was a yellow butterfly.  For a brief moment, she thought about the note, and she realized she needed to get the butterfly free.  She could even see the thing flapping its wings.  Still, she hesitated.  The web covered half the wall, and even a brief glance in the gloom would not reveal the spider that made the web.  The size of the web also made her shiver, since the spider would have to be huge to make it.  Still, she needed the butterfly.  She was certain of that, so she reached up to it.  
     _In that moment, she plucked the thing free, and ran back down the long corridor to the door to the previous hall.  To her dismay, the door was locked.  That told her that she had done the wrong thing.  The only course of action was to return the butterfly to the web before it was too late.  Unfortunately, as the turned around, the spider that made the web was on her.  It was huge, and to it, she knew she was a fly.  Before she could even scream, it injected its fangs into her, piercing several organs.  The agony was all consuming, at least it was until spider injected its digestive fluids into her.  The pain quickly left her, as did her life, as the spider made her its meal._  
    The blonde blinked her eyes for a moment, and withdrew her hand.  If she was going to get the butterfly free, she would need to get a replacement first.  With that in mind, the blonde girl left the storeroom and returned to the second floor hallway, again trying to scan the gloom for the spider that made the web.  If her vision was correct, it would be huge and easy to spot.  
    Once she was back in the main hallway, she headed down the hall, passing the black cat again.  She wasn‘t sure how it had gotten up there, unless it moved up there while she was in that dark storeroom.  As she passed it, she heard it say in its odd little voice, “A decorative cat ornament.  Gotcha.”  The voice seemed a bit more surreal when she  noticed that a nearby suit of armor straightened the spear it was holding, as if it were standing at attention for her.  
    For a moment, she felt like the armor was doing the right thing.  She felt like she was the mistress of the house.  She shook that notion out of her head.  She didn‘t want to be the mistress of this house.  She wanted to be out of it.  She moved pasted the armor, and came to two doors on opposite sides of the hall, as well as one at the far end of the hall.  She decided to check the door that was on the same side of the hall as the storeroom door first.  She then cautiously opened the door.  
    Inside the room, she found a modest library.  Eight book cases stood in the room, each one filled with books.  Deciding to check those shelves first, she walked up to first one and pulled out a book.  It was entitled The Witch's House Volume 1.  Her curiosity peaked, the blonde read the book, but was surprised in only contained one entry.  
    'Keys do not open doors in the Witch's house.  Something else must serve as the key.'  The blonde blinked after reading that.  The book had told her something she already had an idea of.  True, she didn't know why this was, but she knew it wasn't so the house would hurt her.  At least, a part of her knew that, the part that recalled what she had done not to long ago.  
    She put that book back, and moved over to the next shelf.  Again, the blonde found a book, but this one was entitled The Witch's House Volume 2.  Hoping to learn something new, she quickly read it.  'The form of the house changes based on the Witch's magic.'  For a moment, the blonde girl understood what it meant.  It was the only reason that the place acted the way it did.  A part of her knew that, but as quickly as it surfaced, it sank back into her subconscious.  
    For a moment, the other two bookshelves in the front row seemed interesting, but she shook her head, seeing nothing more interesting there.  There seemed to be better stuff in the back row of shelves, and the blonde ventured to the third of that row.  One book there was a scrapbook, and it contained a newspaper clipping.  She looked over the newspaper clipping, more out of curiosity than anything else.  Some details were smudged, probably due to age, but she did the best she could.  
  
    ‘XX/XX  XX Residence burns down.  XX and his wife, XX, were found dead in the wreckage.’  
    ‘Their bodies were found to have stab wounds, so it is suspected they were murdered and the building then set a flame.’  
    ‘Additionally, XX’s only daughter, Ellen (currently 7) has been missing since the Fire.  The police’  
  
    The article had ended there, and the blonde had mixed feelings.  Part of her was concerned, wondering if the lost girl was her friend, or if her friend knew the lost girl.  Another part of her, however, felt a slight glee.  That part of her imagined that the couple in the article weren’t all that loving to their child, and their fate had been deserved.  
    The blonde put that scrapbook back, and walked to the far end of the row, the one behind the first shelf she looked at.  As she did that, she glanced at the mirror that was between two of the shelves.  For a moment, she admired her face, and then for a brief moment, she didn’t recognize the face as hers.  As quickly as that hit her, it went away, especially as she shook her head and continued to her destination.  
    Once she reached her destination, she looked over the shelf . She paused for a moment, thinking that she was being watched.  She glanced over at a chair, not seeing someone there.  Earlier, she would have sworn the house might have been empty, but seeing the presence of the invisible chef told her that just because a room looked empty, didn’t mean it was.  She returned her attention to the bookshelf, and found one book marked A Funny Story.  She quickly pulled out the book, feeling the need for a good laugh, and read it.  
  
    ‘Once upon a time, there was a rich man pulling along a cart full of treasure.  His cart had broken down in the woods, but there came a passing hunter and his dog.  The rich man pleaded to the hunter to keep a close eye on his cart, to which the hunter agreed.’  
    ‘The rich man went to get a new cart.  Meanwhile, the hunter kept watch.  Night soon fell, and the hunter grew worried for his elderly mother still at home.  So the hunter told the dog to watch the cart and went home to check on his mother.’  
    ‘When the man returned, he saw the dog on guard.  So he gave the dog a reward for his master, a silver coin, to carry in his mouth.  The dog ran all the way home and brought his master the coin, but the hunter flew into a rage.  "I told you to watch the cart, and what did you do?  You stole from it!"  So the master killed the dog.’  
  
    With the story over, the blonde looked at the page again.  Part of her was shocked by the tale, and by the fact that she read it aloud.  That moment of shock ended when a harsh, joyous laughter came from the nearby chair.  It was moving in a way that suggested that some invisible person was sitting in it, and was in a fit of laughter.  If anyone might have been in the room, they would have also been stunned by the look on the blonde’s face.  There was a smile on it that one could only link with malevolent glee.  
    She put the book back on the shelf, and headed over to a small alcove that had books all over the floor.  Some were even piled up.  She also notice a stain on the wall, as if someone had place a bloody hand on the wall, and wiped their hand on the wall.  
    As she looked at it, she felt certain there was another presence there.  She looked at the pile of books, and noticed that some were being moved, similar to the way she had seen people sort books in the library.  She stepped closer to the pile, and she heard a voice speak.  “Sorting these books isn’t going well.  I need something to tie them together with.”  
    The blonde was certain that the voice was speaking to her, as if it knew she was holding on to something helpful.  She knew she was, having picked up the rope in the last room she had been in.  She pulled out the rope, and quietly handed it to the invisible presence.  There was a slim chance that the invisible figure would have some ill intent with the rope, but she knew better.  
    In that instant, the invisible figure took the rope, and said, “Are you giving me this?”  She then saw the rope get wrapped around the books on the floor.  The voice then said “Thank you!”  Even as those words were spoken, the blonde was surprised to see on lone book being thrust into her hands, accompanied by the voice saying “Take this.”  
    She stepped away from the voice, looking at the cover of the book.  It was titled Book of Death.  She had remembered hearing once that some cultures had a book that was supposed to go with the dead, to help them survive in the life after.  She thought it was silly at the time, but here was something that had to be that, in her hands.  For a moment, she debated about opening the book.  What would be the harm in doing so?  
     _She opened the book, and began reading it.  At first, she would have sworn the words were illegible, but the quickly became understandable.  She momentarily rubbed at her eyes, feeling an itch start.  She also noticed the light in the room was starting to dim.  Still, she kept reading.  She read a warning that no living being should read this book.  She ignored it, rubbing at her eyes again.  It felt like she was crying now, and a momentarily glance told her some liquid was on her hands.  Still, she kept reading.  It was getting harder to do so, as if her eyesight was failing entirely.   Soon, she couldn‘t read a thing, and the last action crossing her mind was rubbing at her failing eyes.  After that, her body was motionless, all life in it gone as blood stains ran from her now empty eye sockets, giving a crimson hue to her mummified face._  
    The blonde stopped before she had even cracked open the book.  Again, she had a vision of what would happen if she did something extremely dangerous.  A part of her knew where the warning came from, and was thankful for it.  It made her start to wonder about what had happened earlier, which part of her knew all to well, while most of her had only a fuzzy memory of it.  
    She then left the library, and went to the door across the hall from it.  She paused for a moment, however, to look down the hall.  The suit of armor she had passed earlier was now moving away from its spot, away from her as well.  Part of her was thankful for that, although that same small part from before knew it wouldn‘t hurt her.  She looked over at the other door she had seen, and figured the door was the only locked door in the hall.  
    She then entered the door across from the library, and entered a small little trophy room.  It was the only way she could describe the room, since there were two glass cases in the room.  She looked into the first one to see a gruesome head.  To her own surprise, she saw the eyes on it open and look right at her.  She could even feel malevolence in that gaze, which reason tried to tell her couldn’t be, since the head wasn’t attached to a body, and couldn’t be alive.  
    She looked into the other case, and noticed a blue butterfly in it.  She recalled the yellow butterfly in the spider’s web, and the vision if she had tried to grab it.  If she could get this one, she could put it in place of the yellow butterfly.  She reached the case and tried to open it.  Unfortunately, she found the case locked.  She would have to find another way to open the case.  
    She looked around for a moment, and noticed a hallway off to the right of the case.  She walked over to it, looking left and right for a switch.  As she did so, she heard something hit one of the glass cases.  She dared a glance back, noticing the beginnings of cracks forming on the case that held the head in it.  She started to hope that the case would hold until she was able to get the blue butterfly out of the other case.  
    She moved down the narrow hallway, and after turning a corner, she was surprised to discover a bookshelf.  For a moment, she wanted to check the books, but after trying to remove one, she found it was impossible.  There was one spot on the shelf. However, that was completely empty.  She looked at the book she had just been given, and realized it would fit perfectly in the space.  She slid it in, and heard a click from back at the display cases.  She must have unlocked the case that the butterfly was in.  
    She started back through the hallway, and to her surprise, she heard what sounded like a heavy scraping.  It was an ominous sound, and the blonde girl could do nothing more than proceed very slowly.  Her thoughts even turned to the head that had been in the case.  She started to recall that the face on the thing was almost a skull.  In that moment, to her horror, she saw it bounce around the corner, and start towards her.  
     _In a moment of complete panic, the blonde was frozen with fear.  How could the thing bounce, and how could it move?  The scrapping sound she had heard meant the thing should be too heavy to bounce, but it did.  Before she realized it, the thing had bounced up again, and as she looked up, it came down on her head.  Her world went dark, and she felt something warm in the brief moment she had left to feel anything.  The head then crashed through her, pushing what parts of her under it down into a massive stain on the floor, surrounded by the remains of the blonde’s body._  
    The blonde blinked as the vision passed, but she reacted quickly.  She had turned around, heading back to the bookshelf.  The hallway was too narrow to dodge that skull, but she felt the bookshelf was her best hope.  As she approached it, she looked back to see that the skull was still pursuing her.  As she neared the bookshelf, she was glad to see that it wasn’t against the wall.  It gave her an idea.  
    She quickly got behind the bookshelf, and watched as the stone skull got closer to her.  She was amazed at its speed, but she felt confident that she could out run it.  As it neared where she was, she quickly ran behind the bookshelf, and then out from the other side.  She heard the skull bouncing behind her, but she kept running.  If she made a misstep, it would kill her.  She just hoped it would not follow her out of the room.  That thought was on her mind as she reached the door.  She was quick to head out the door, and slam it shut.  
    The second she was in the hall, she heard a loud thud hit the door.  For a moment, she stood in horror, watching the door, and waiting for it to break.  After what felt like an eternity, she cautiously opened the door she had just came through.  There was no sign of the skull that had pursued her.  She also noticed that the other glass case appeared to be open.  
    The blonde looked at the case, and then at the other case.  The glass was shattered, and the head was gone.  She didn’t linger, since it was possible the head was still in the room, waiting again to ambush her.  Once again, that other part of her mind knew the truth, that the skull was no longer there, but she wasn’t going to linger either way.  She went back to the other case, and retrieved the blue butterfly.  
    With that in hand, the blonde knew what she had to do.  She left the room again, and went back down the hall to the room the large spider web was.  As she went to it, she noticed that the armor had returned to its place.  She still didn’t know why it had moved in the first place, but that thought wasn’t important now.  
    She entered the storage room, and ran down the long hall.  It took her almost no time to reach the web.  Luckily, the yellow butterfly was still there.  That meant the spider that had made the web had not eaten it yet.  Remembering the words of the note, she plucked the yellow butterfly out of the web, and quickly placed the blue one in its place.  
    Once that was done, she ran back down the hallway, and was relieved that she could open the door.  Once through, she looked at the yellow butterfly, and watched as it flapped its wings, and flew off.  She followed its flight, and was amazed that it made a path to a crack in the wall.  She could have sworn it wasn’t there before, but the delicate creature went through it, and out into the forest.  As it left her sight, the blonde heard a door unlock.  
    She walked to the far end of the hall, past the two doors to the library and trophy room.  As she headed to that far door, she noticed the cat had left the hall.  She had a feeling the feline had already gone through the door.  This feeling increased as she opened the door.  It had moved on, and gone through this chamber.  She didn’t linger either, getting through the room, and starting up the steps.  She was careful doing so, since there appeared to be bags of grain laying on the steps.  
    As she headed up the steps, for a brief moment, the purple haired girl appeared at the base of the steps.  She momentarily watched the blonde ascend the steps.  As she did so, she wondered if what she was doing was helping, or if the house wasn’t listening to what she wanted.  It was important that the blonde makes it to the room.  It was the only way things had to go.  She then disappeared from the bottom of the steps, her goal set in her mind.


	4. Lethal Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our protagonist continues deeper into the house, through the third floor. As she does, she learns more about the house, its occupants, and the constant visions of her death.

    The blonde finally reached the top of the steps, and she did not seem surprised to see the cat there.  The feline seemed as unnatural as the house.  Of course, something in her told her that this was as it should be.  She then looked around the small little room the stairs delivered her to, and she saw only one door.  She noticed the wall opposite the door had a blood stain on it, one that was level with her head.  
    She froze at the door, looking back at the blood stain.  She thought of the room that had been two floors down.  That blood stain had been the sign of a trap, and she avoided stepping on it then.  No doubt that this spot was the sign of a similar trap, and she needed to be careful.  With that thought in mind, the blonde opened the door.  
     _The second she entered the room, she was greeted by a sight she didn’t expect.  A shiny silver knife came flying at her head.  It was so shiny that she felt her eyes drawn to it as it came at her.  That had been a mistake, since the blade quickly made its way right into her skull.  As her vision faded, she had trouble placing the name to what was embedded in her head.  Those were the last thoughts she had, though, since she didn’t feel the warm fluid now oozing down her formerly unmarred face._  
    She had paused when the vision hit her.  It had been so vivid like the last one, and she knew what it was trying to do.  It was trying to warn her of some danger; one she had forgotten about.  The house didn’t have to do that, but she kept that in mind as she entered the door.  
    She heard it before she saw it.  The knife came flying at her.  She reacted in time, dodging out of the way.  She then saw a second one come flying at her.  The blonde girl reacted again, dodging another knife.  She rushed forward, trying to make it to the end.  She heard the sound of another knife coming at her, but she couldn't see it.  That told her one thing; it was coming from behind her.  
    She dove to the side just as the knife would have hit the back of her head.  She then heard more knives fly, but her dive had taken her to the opposite door.  She quickly opened the door, and jumped through it.  The second she was through, it slammed shut, and she heard the loud thunk of a knife embedding itself in the wall.  The blonde stopped to catch her breath, inwardly cursing those knives.  She never had to worry about them before.  
    After a moment, the blonde noticed that there was a burlap sack by the door she had just come through. She took a look in it, and she found a dead cat inside.  She wasn't horrified by the sight.  She just accepted the sight for what it was.  Another part of her smiled at the thought of another cat joining the pile.  
    After that she moved down the hall, passing a door on her right, and notice the cat she had seen earlier.  It was sitting there, waiting for her.  She walked right up to it, and it just said to her, "By the way, you know this is a witch's house, right?"  
    A part of the blonde was mentally rolling her eyes.  She knew it was a witch's house.  She then walked past the cat to a door that was near it.  She felt it was the way she had to go, but as she tried the door, it was locked.  She rattled the door knob again, and left it.  She was certain that the way to unlock the door was near here.  
    She continued down the hall, and she saw a switch near the far end.  The only drawback was that it appeared to be at the end of a silver line.  As she neared it, she noticed that the silver line was actually the only way to the switch, since it was in the middle of a huge hole in the hallway.  The blonde looked down at the silver line, contemplating its strength for a moment.  
     _After a few seconds, the blonde decided to try and cross the line.  She had practiced tightrope walking before, and she was confident she could get to the switch.  She slowly stepped onto the line over the gap.  The first few steps went easy enough, but before she even got halfway to the switch, the line broke.  She was plummeting down into the darkness of the hole.  It was a lot deeper than she suspected, and before too long, she hit the bottom.  It was a brief, but very painful, experience, since the impact shattered her bones, and they punctured all vital organs.  The blonde was dead seconds after impact._  
    She paused just as her foot would have touched the line.  She now knew walking out to the switch would be a bad choice.  She needed to find something small and light enough to the switch.  She turned around, and headed back to the cat.  For a moment, she thought about having the cat do it.  She dismissed that idea, however, since she had a feeling the cat was a lot heavier than it looked.  
    The blonde then remembered the door she had passed earlier.  As she walked back, she passed the cat, and reached the door on the other side of the hall.  She listened at the door, not hearing anything in the room.  It could be that there was nothing in there, but she felt that was unlikely.  Something in her just told her the room was safe, at least it was for now.  
    She entered the room, and she was right about it being safe.  The blonde saw the room wasn’t big, but contained a small pool, like an atrium seen in paintings of ancient homes.  In the pool, she saw a small frog sitting in the middle of it.  That animal would be small enough to get to the switch.  The blonde was certain of that.  
    She approached the frog, and instantly, she knew it would do anything for her.  She also saw a note on the north wall.  She quickly pulled the note off the wall and read it.  ‘DO YOU LIKE FROGS?’  She looked again at the frog, and saw affection in its eyes.  Part of her was disgusted by the thought of that, while the other part knew what she had to do.  She just nodded at the frog, and it jumped up into her hands.  Again, the part of her that was disgusted wanted to just throw the frog, but the other part over ruled it.  She could get rid of the frog after she was done with it.  
    She quickly made her way back to the thin, wiry bridge, and placed the frog down right at its start.  The frog looked at her, and then she looked at the switch.  She pointed at it, and the frog understood, affection watering its eyes.  It would do anything for her.  
    In two light, quick leaps, it was at the switch, and even triggered it.  Once that happened, there was an audible unlocking sound, and the blonde knew the task was done.  She turned to leave, and then stopped.  She looked back at the frog, which for the moment looked almost heart broken, but was overjoyed when she waited for it.  Soon, it was in her hands, and she tucked it into a pocket in her dress.  She then headed back to the door that had been locked earlier.  
    For a brief moment, the blonde saw another girl there.  It was the purple haired girl.  It was only an instant, and at that moment, they appeared to pass one another.  The blonde, for a moment, thought she recognized the figure, but something in her said it couldn’t be possible.  She turned to look at the girl, but she saw no one there.  This caused the blonde to worry on some level in her mind, but the reasons for that worry were unclear to her at the moment.  
    She put the encounter out of her mind for the moment.  She had to continue on.  She had to figure out how to get out of the place, and the only way that made sense at the moment was the door she had just unlocked.  Focused on that, the blonde walked past the cat, and opened the door.  
    When she entered the room, the blonde found herself in a room that was divided by a slight partition arch.  She walked through the room, taking everything in.  Teddy bears were on cabinets in the corners.  Each half had tables in them.  Pictures adorned the northern walls.  Each side had three chairs in it, and in one of the chairs sat a frog.  
    Once she was done looking over the strange room, she moved to the door opposite the one she came in.  She was determined to move on, but to her chagrin, the door was locked.  There had to be a way to unlock the door.  She just had to find out how to do it.  
    She looked over the room again, and finally noticed a note on one of the walls.  She walked over to it, and read the simple instructions.  ‘MAKE A MIRROR IMAGE’.  She closed her eyes for a moment, pondering the meaning of the words.  It had to do with the room, and the almost symmetrical nature of the room.  
    The blonde almost smacked her face when she realized it.  She had to make the room symmetrical.  The right side had to mirror the left side.  She knew where she had to start, with the only item that was a singular item.  The small cabinet in the archway.  
    She opened it to find a piece of cake on a plate.  For a moment, she felt hungry, but then she realized it wasn’t real.  She glanced over at the one table, and she saw an exact match on the corner.  She pulled out the cake piece, moved to the table in the other side of the room, and placed the cake in the corner so that would mirror the other piece.  
    She then looked at the plant near that table.  It wasn’t in the same place as the one on the other side.  It took her a few moments to judge the proper place to move it to, and did so.  She was surprised how heavy it was, and moved it into place.  Once she did that, she took a moment to try pushing the other plant.  She wasn’t surprised that it didn’t move.  
    She looked over things for a moment, and then noticed a flower on the table, just laying there.  The other table didn’t have a flower on it.  She did, however, notice several vases with flowers in them.  This led her to think the flower belonged in one of the vases.  With that in mind, the blonde picked up the flower, and walked around to all the vases, comparing them with the same vase on the other side of the room.  Eventually, she found the vase that was missing a flower, and put the flower in it.  
    Once that was done, she looked over the room again, her eyes landing on the six chairs in the room.  Only one was occupied, the one she saw the frog in when she entered.  At first, she figured the best thing to do was remove the fake frog.  When she tried, however, she was surprised to find that the frog was stuck to the chair.  After discovering this, she walked over to the matching chair on the other side, she pulled out the frog, and sat it on it.  As she did that, the blonde indicated that it wasn’t to move.  
    The blonde looked over the room again, and some things still looked wrong.  The stuff in the back of the room seemed wrong.  Each side had a china cabinet, but the contents on each looked different.  They were the same items, but in different configurations.  It would take her a few tries, but she eventually got them looking like mirror images of one another.  
    Once that was done, she looked at the pictures.  They were both different, but she discovered a switch molded into the frame of the one.  By pushing it, the blonde saw the picture change slightly.  This also took her a few tries to get the images to reflect one another, but she had done it.  She then waited, certain she had everything right, but she never heard the click.  
    The blonde looked at both sides of the room, and scratched her head.  Everything matched, just as the note wanted.  Then she looked at the note on the wall.  It was the only thing that did not have a mirror image.  Sure, she could rip it in half, and somehow write the note in reverse, but that was too complex a solution.  The best solution here was the simplest one.  She grabbed the note, and ripped it off the wall.  Once she did that, she heard the door unlock, signaling she could move on.  She made her way to the door, pausing long enough to look over at the frog.  The frog, in blind obedience, jumped of the chair and joined her.  
    In the next room, she saw a desk in the corner.  She made her way to it, noticing the open book on it.  It was another diary, written in the same hand as the others she had seen.   This one read like this:  
  
'MY FATHER AND MOTHER DIDN'T LOVE ME SO I X THEM'  
'I'VE BEEN IN THIS HOUSE EVER SINCE.'  
  
    The blonde step back from the book, letting the words sink in.  While one word was blurred out, she knew what the word was.  It was something they had deserved.  All the while the blonde thought that, she was clenching her fists hard.  She was so mad, she went to the door, ignoring the note on the wall next to the desk.  
    The second she entered the room, she saw a knife flying at her.  It happened so fast, she didn't have time to duck.  It didn't matter, though, as the blade past right through her.  It had not been real.  Several more flew at her, and then through her as she neared a wider section of the room.  She didn't understand why this happened, but she didn't question it.  Once she reached the wider part of the room, she noticed some bookshelves there, and decided to check them out.  For a moment, she hesitated, but then she went to the one bookshelf.  
    She reached it without incident, and pulled out the first book that called to her.  It was titled ‘Demons and Witches’.  The title of the book alone intrigued the blonde, and she opened it.  She was quickly captivated by the words on the page.  'Demons feed on human souls, but demons are without physical form, so they cannot kill.'  This fact seemed to put part of the blonde's mind at ease, until she read the next part.  'Witches offer souls to demons.  In return, demons give witches magic.  A human that makes a pact with a demon is referred to as a witch.'  
    The blonde almost closed the book, cautiously looking around the room.  Part of her had never considered that a demon might be about.  It could explain every thing that was happening, but not who the witch was.  She wondered for a moment if her friend, the purple haired girl was the witch, but she knew better.  That wasn't possible.  
    She then noticed the page sticking out of the book.  It had obviously been tore free of the book for some reason, so she pulled it out.  On the page, she read something that seemed familiar to her.  'Unlike charms cast on oneself, it is no easy task to cast spells on two people.  This is because the target of the spell needs to have sincere consent.  Thus, a bond of trust must be built for spells like this type to succeed.'  Something in the blonde's mind told her she knew that, and had received that.  She then shook her head, wondering where the thought had come from.  
    After that, she tossed the page aside, and went over to the desk.  On top of it was another diary, written in the same handwriting as the others, with some of the words blurred:  
  
"WHEN I X MY FATHER AND MOTHER, A DEMON CAME ALONG AND ATE THE TWO OF THEM.  THE DEMON TOOK ME TO THIS FOREST.  IT THANKED ME FOR THE MEAL, AND GAVE ME THIS HOUSE.  THEN I BECAME A WITCH.  THE DEMON SAID 'IF YOU LET ME EAT PEOPLE, I'LL TEACH YOU A SPELL TO CURE YOUR ILLNESS.'"  
  
    After reading those lines, the blonde girl felt a presence.  She glanced to her side, and for a moment, she could have sworn the cat was there.  Then, after she realized what she had read, she felt an urge to run down to the library.  That was the first place she had read anything about the house, and she was certain there was going to be something important down there.  
    With a goal in mind, she dashed through the various rooms of the floor, and down the steps to the second floor.  She was thankful nothing triggered a vision, but a part of her feared that this demon was watching her.  Was the demon the owner of the house?  Part of her didn‘t think so, because if that was a case, how could her friend be safe?  Another part of her dismissed those thoughts, as if it already knew the truth.  
    She had put those thoughts aside when she entered the library again.  A quick glance at all the shelves told her nothing had changed, but something had caught her eye over where the invisible person had been working.  It looked like the rope had been tied to the ceiling, and something was hanging from the noose, like a figure had been hung.  Had someone been there, the might have seen a sinister smile crossed the blonde‘s face, as if she took delight in the sight.  
    She was broken out of that thought, however, when something else caught her eye.  A table had moved, even though no one was near it.  She stepped away from it, and managed to catch a glimpse of the mirror in the room.  For a second, she could swear she saw the purple haired girl behind her, but part of her could have sworn that the images was combined with her own.  It wasn‘t something that was possible, was it?  Before she could think about it more, the mirror cracked.  The blonde girl fled the room, not wanting to be the target of the bad luck that was sure to come because of a broken mirror.  
    She quickly ran back up to the third floor, and had almost made her way back to the room she had found the last diary and book.  There had been a note on the wall.  She walked over to it, and read it, recalling briefly that she hadn’t bothered to look at it last time.  It read, ’THROUGH THE NEXT DOOR, AND LET NOTHING DISTRACT YOU.’  She thought back to when she first entered the room, remembering the knife that passed harmlessly through her.  She knew she didn’t have anything to fear from the knife.  So she returned to the room, and started down the hall again.  Again, a knife flew right at her, and she didn’t plan on moving.  
   _At the last moment, however, she stumbled, falling to her side.  The action, while not intended, did more than take her out of the path of the knife.  It had caused her to be transported into a small room with no exit.  As she looked around, trying to find an exit, she had a sense that something big was coming.  She had been right, as in mere moments after entering that little room, a rock came down from above.  This rock literally filled the room, smashing anything under it.  Her death was swift, and painful, as she ended up a bloody smear of gore under the rock._  
    The blonde blinked again, realizing what would happen if she had moved out of the path of the blade.  She even felt checking the bookshelf again would lead to that same place she saw in the vision.  Straying from the center of the room would mean death.  To that end, she walked down the center of the room.   She kept that goal in mind as she ran towards the door.  
    She quickly reached the door, and got through it.  This resulted with her in a room similar to the one with the note on the wall.  This room was different since it was barren, except for a note on the floor, and a door with a slot in it on the one wall.  It was the only feature, and the blonde wanted to check the shelves again, also wanting to see if the cat was still there.  This dull room could wait.  
    She opened the door she had just come through, and to her surprise, the room she had just run through was no longer there.  The blonde could no longer check that room, so she returned to the new room, and read the note.  ‘HE‘S HUNGRY‘.  She thought about those words, and looked over at the door.  The slot could be a place to put food, but who exactly was he?  Was he this mysterious demon?  
    She slowly walked over to the door, and listened for a moment.  At first the blonde thought about heading through the door, but she resisted.  She would have to get through the room, but how long would it take?  She momentarily placed her hand on the knob of the door, debating about making a run for it.  
     _She quickly opened the door, and ran inside.  Before she could get past the door, however, she was pounced on by the room‘s occupant.  It was a giant snake, one that was hungry.  Before she could scream, the snake unhinged its jaw, and bit her.  Its two poison fangs pierced her body, and in seconds, she couldn‘t move.  It didn‘t matter, since the snake opened its mouth again, but this time, it swallowed her.  As her body made its way into the snake‘s gullet, the blonde ended up being consumed by the snakes digestive system.  It was a fatal experience._  
    The blonde blinked her eyes again, and took her hand away from the door.  It was another vision, and now she knew what was in the room.  She needed a way to get the snake to leave.  It was hungry, so she needed to feed it.  She then looked down at the frog, it still staring at her with love in its eyes.  
    An evil grin crossed her face, and it looked wrong.  All of a sudden, the frog showed a bit of fear.  That didn‘t bother the blonde, and she opened the slot on the door.  At first the frog fought her, but she pushed it in.  She made sure not to let her hand go through the slot, especially as she pushed so hard, that the frog was sent flying into the room.  She then slammed the slot shut.  After that, she heard a large crunch, and some movement in the room.  In seconds, the room was silent, and the blonde chanced opening the door.  
    Inside the room, she saw a huge fissure in the northern wall.  For a second, she heard a slithering sound in the fissure, but the blonde knew better than going near it.  She then headed out the door to the south.  She wasn‘t going to waste time in the room.  As she left, however, she caught a glimpse of the frog, but it was transparent.  That wasn‘t possible, however, since the blonde knew animals didn‘t have souls.  
    Once outside that room, she saw a hallway full of cat statues.  She had a feeling that this was all that was left of the floor, and so she made her way down the hall, passing each statue.  Eventually, as she passed, she heard one say in a familiar voice, “A cat statue.  Kidding.  Don‘t ignore me.”  She paused, looking at it again.  She knew there was something more about this cat, but she wasn‘t going to dwell on it.  She needed to get out of here.  She then continued down the hall, to the steps to the next floor.  
    As she passed the last statue, she managed to see the last statue spin its head.  She didn’t think much of it.  What she didn‘t see, however, was that someone had manipulated the head.  The person seemed to be invisible, but it was actually the image of the purple haired girl.  The purple haired girl had done this for a reason.  The very reason why the blonde girl had to make it to the room.  The purple haired girl wanted the blonde to remember the deal.  


End file.
